Niagara using advanced identification technology

by Staff Sgt. Andrew Caya
914th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

10/5/2012 - NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y.  -- In addition to being armed with weapons at the front gate, the 914th Security Forces Squadron has another tool in their arsenal to keep the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station secure.

It's called the Defense Biometric Identification System, a Department of Defense-mandated identity authentication tool. DBIDS is a physical access control system which uses barcodes and biometrics to identify common access card holders at entry control points.

DBIDS incorporates biometrics in order to verify a person's identity. This information already resides in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, better known as DEERS.

"DBIDS is a really good tool," said Mr. William Sherman, Niagara Falls ARS DBIDS Site Security Manager. "It allows us to screen everybody as they come through the base."

The first screening will register the card holder automatically. However, it might take up to two minutes to register the card user in the system. During the first scan, the card holder will be registered in the system at all bases and subsequent scans will take only a few seconds, said Sherman.

As Niagara Falls ARS continues various construction projects, DBIDS grants easier access to properly vetted workers who come on base.

Once a construction contract is awarded, the contractor or construction worker is screened and issued a DBIDS card which will allow them access to the base with a sponsor.

Although DBIDS is scanning people at the gate, security forces Airmen and their civilian counterparts still verify every ID. That manual verification process will never go away, said Sherman.